The Massachusetts Pirates professional arena football team in Worcester, MA have signed former Florida Gator defensive back Jabari Gorman for the 2019 season.

The 5”10” 185lb. native of Opa Locka, FL played 49 games in four years for the Gators where he tallied 116 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, three interceptions and three forced fumbles. Gorman then embarked on his pro career and in 2016 was the Indoor Football League’s Defensive Rookie of the Year with the Nebraska Danger. There he had 125 total tackles with seven interceptions, returning two for touchdowns.

2017 saw Gorman with three organizations. He was a member of the Arena Football League’s Tampa Bay Storm where he had 11 tackles and three assists. He also saw action with the Jacksonville Sharks of the National Arena League. With Jacksonville he played in four games with 21 stops and two interceptions while leading the NAL in average tackles per game with 6.6. That led to a contract with the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the Canadian Football League.

Last season Gorman returned to the IFL with the Sioux Falls Storm. In fourteen games he picked off five passes, made 60 solo tackles and assisted on 21 others. Now he’s looking forward to a return to the NAL and a chance at another title.

“It’s another opportunity to win a championship and another opportunity to play this game that I love. I followed the National Arena League all of last year and going into the playoffs the Pirates were the number one team so that say’s a lot about the team and what they are trying to do in Massachusetts,” he added.

Jawad Yatim, President of the Pirates has had his eye on Gorman for some time.

"Jabari a cool customer. He has a quiet confidence about him, the type of swagger I like to bring into our organization. I had a chance to watch him play down in Jacksonville when we initially got approved as an ownership group and he really stuck out to me. He had two interceptions that game and he always seemed to be in good position to make a play on the ball. He's a winner. He's appeared in three championship games in recent years and that's obviously the expectations we have here, so we expect that experience and pedigree to rub off on us. I’m very happy Jabari is coming up north and hopping on the Pirate ship,” Yatim added.

When it comes to Gorman’s 14 interceptions over the last three seasons, he credits his success to listening to his coaches.

“I’m a guy that buys into the program and I trust the process. Schemes and disguises are things that I take the initiative to understand when it comes to what other teams are trying to do to our defense. I want to bring energy. I’m game ready. We are arena (players) but we are still trying to become NFL and CFL higher level players. We all have the ability so what I want to bring is that every day matters, every play matters, every snap counts because you never know if it’s your last one or this might be that play that changes your life. I want to bring that to the table for the Pirates to let them know that I want to win,” Gorman said.

The Massachusetts Pirates are members of the National Arena League (NAL). The Pirates play all home games at the DCU Center located at 50 Foster St. Worcester, MA. 01608. Pirate Nation Season Ticket Memberships for the 2019 season will be on sale in September. Pirate Nation Memberships start as low as $199.00. To become a Pirate Nation Season Ticket member or for more information on the Massachusetts Pirates please call (508) 452-MASS (6277), email contact@masspiratesfootball.com or visit www.masspiratesfootball.com. Single game tickets are available online at ticketmaster.com or the DCU Center Box Office. For group outings please call Tim Parker at 508-452-MASS (6277) or email tparker@masspiratesfootball.com. Follow the Pirates on facebook at facebook.com/MAPirates on Instagram @mass.pirates, as well as Twitter @mass_pirates.